Meet Melissa Smithson
I founded Smithson Growth Partners to give A/E/C and commercial real estate firms senior business-development leadership without the cost of a full-time hire.
For more than 20 years I've worked in sales, marketing, and business development, much of it inside the built environment. Before launching SGP, I led business development and marketing from inside a Nashville commercial contractor, where I saw firsthand how firms pursue work, respond to RFQs and RFPs, build client relationships, and position themselves to win.
My approach is relationship-driven, not transactional. In A/E/C and CRE, relationships often develop over months or years before a project opportunity exists. I help firms stay visible, build trust, understand the market, and be positioned before work reaches procurement, then turn that groundwork into intentional business-development activity through disciplined follow-up, CRM, and pursuit support.
As a fractional partner, I become part of your team: accountable for progress and flexible enough to scale my involvement up or down as your needs change.